White People Control All the Power in Silicon Valley

A new report finds that Silicon Valley’s power structure, the conduits that determine which technologies will shape the fabric of society, is comprised of a representative mix of the people who use them. Ha ha, of course not, ha ha.

The Information, basically a subscription-only trade publication founded by the wife of a former, highly influential Facebook executive, has some incredibly damning numbers about the absolute lack of diversity in Silicon Valley’s venture capital world. We didn’t really need any numbers to show that this is true, but it never hurts to have a bunch of data, according to every white male VC in the world.

The results of a survey of gender, race, and age of decision-making members of venture capital firms—the people who decide who gets a shot and who doesn’t—are just as bleak as you would guess:

Less than one percent of senior VCs involved in investment decision are Black—four of 546 people. And only 1.3% are Hispanic.

Ninety two percent of the senior investment teams at top-tier venture capital firms are male and 78% are white. About a quarter have all-white male managers. These results are way worse than the diversity breakdown at major tech companies, where 23% of leadership teams are female and 77% male.

Yes, even a whitewashed tech company like Facebook looks like fucking Sesame Street compared to the people handing out the dumb money.

Do we want the future of software to be determined through the investment gambles of almost exclusively middle-aged men in fleece vests? Is that the world we want? Probably not! Do these white guys have any possible motivation to change their status quo? Probably not! The fact that diversity in tech is literally a joke to the people who are in a position to do anything about it sure doesn’t help. And no, Ben Horowitz, your friendship with Nas doesn’t count.